Has Groh used up nine lives?
Funny how some things stick in your mind.
When I was part of a panel speaking on college football recently at Boonesboro Country Club in Lynchburg, along with Dave Glenn of the ACC Sports Journal, Mike Burnop of Virginia Tech radio, and Liberty head coach Danny Rocco, it was interesting listening to one of Rocco’s responses to a question from the audience.
The question concerned Al Groh’s status at Virginia and just how hot his coaching seat might be this year. After a rocky start, and that’s putting it mildly, Rocco’s answer intrigued me.
“Of all the people I’ve coached with over my career, the one guy who is the most dangerous when his back is against the wall is Al Groh,” Rocco said. “He’ll fight, dig, claw and find a way to win. I wouldn’t bet against him.”
Rocco should know. He played for and worked for Groh at Wake Forest, with the New York Jets and at Virginia.
Certainly in his nine years at UVa, Groh has used up some of his nine lives.
Bouncing back
The 2002 season was the best example when the team started 0-2, came back and won six in a row and went 9-5, tied for second in the ACC and beat No. 15 in the Continental Tire Bowl (48-22).
In 2007, even the most loyal of Wahoo supporters predicted gloom and doom when the Cavaliers were dominated in the season opener at Wyoming. Yet, the team reeled off seven straight wins, went 9-4, finished second in the Coastal Division and nearly upset Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl.
Last year, due to a quarterback debacle involving the handling of the Peter Lalich case, the Cavs sputtered to a 1-3 start, including a second-half collapse at Duke. The team won four in a row and had it not been for some untimely interceptions by new quarterback, would have gone to a bowl game.
A common thread
Today’s question is, has Groh used up all his nine lives?
Not if you believe in what Rocco believes.
Virginia hasn’t started a season 0-3 since George Welsh took over the program in 1982 and eventually built the Cavaliers into consistent winners with one of the best coaching jobs in college football history.
Groh’s assignment for this Saturday is to find a way to survive in hostile territory, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, unfamiliar territory for Virginia’s program. For years, Southern Miss built a reputation on knocking off the big boys from BCS conferences.
But remember what Rocco said.
During Monday’s weekly press conference with Groh, I asked him has there been any common thread in those seasons where the Cavaliers’ backs were truly against the wall and the coach’s response was long and insightful.
“Because there have been a number of those, we have looked back at some of those circumstances,” Groh said. “One was a great determination on the part of the players to just make things better ... a willingness to continue to grind and work and a belief in the system that allowed them to maintain their confidence, that, one, what we were doing and how we were doing it would work out.
“And then along the way in each particular case, there’s been some circumstances where just strategically and tactically we might have said, ‘Look, we are going to reshape things a little bit here at this particular time. So, there’s been elements of all of those.”
Don’t expect Groh to take his team halfway across the country to play status quo football, particularly with rumors flying that his job could be squarely on the line if the team continues to shoot itself in the foot.
With an offensive line that apparently hasn’t adjusted well to the no-huddle spread tactics, leading to a shoddy running game, and a not so threatening passing game, something must be done.
The defense has played pretty good football, considering the length of time it has been required to stay on the field and considering some of the circumstances it has been put in by the offensive woes.
We’re still waiting on the special teams to be special.
But the offense, something that has held the program back for quite some time now, has to make a showing this weekend. So far, the offense has been so anemic that we heard some disgruntled fans mutter on Saturday, “Bring back Mike Groh,” who carried the brunt of the blame for the previous three years.
There has been some debate since last weekend’s 30-14 loss to TCU about whether or not Groh should stick with the spread or shelve it until he gets personnel more suited to run it and go with something more conservative.
The old coaches will tell you to stick to your guns, that you can’t lose faith in your own system, to endure the growing pains and hope for the best. Their logic is you can’t make that kind of a change three weeks into the season.
However, those coaches probably weren’t coaching with their jobs on the line.
Right now, it would make sense if Groh decided to — remember his words in the aforementioned statement — “there’s been some circumstances where just strategically and tactically we might have said we are going to reshape tings a little bit here.”
We won’t know what that means until the Cavaliers line up in Hattiesburg on Saturday, but remember what Rocco said, too.
Groh may still have a couple of lives left.
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Reader Reactions
David Teel from the Daily Press in Hampton tells me that Troy Calhoun is a hot topic in coaching circles. He has done wonders at Air Force Academy. Hey, UVA hasn’t lost a conference game yet this year…..Groh might still be around next year????
Hey fellow Wahoo fans….take heart….no way we’re gonna’ lose this weekend! BYE was hit hard by graduation so we have the experience factor on them. However, if we should stumble I think we can still cover the point spread..last I saw it was Virginia plus 12.
Is it too early to speculate on Al Groh’s replacement. Three names head the list for me. Jim Grobe (Wake Forest), Todd Graham (Tulsa) and Mike London (Richmond). If you look at Todd Graham’s ascent, it is unbelievable. The question is, would Graham stay at Vriginia if an offer came from a big time Texas school (his home state). He did coach at West Virginia, so he knows the region. Grobe is great, may be too old though. London might be a gamble. Let’s start talking and keep our signed recruits, because recruiting is pretty good and will improve with Graham. Thank you
Michael Wilkinson
Hampton Crabber
St. Petersburg, FL resident
In the new pronunciation of his name, the ‘r’ in Groh is silent.
I seriously doubt that UVA can recruit any sane coach of any stature. Those false expectations continue to be raised each time we tire of our current coach—in either “money” sport. We have amply demonstrated that UVA is a “no win” situation.
That’s not an excuse for Al. He needs to pack it in—even if he were able to slvage this season with six wins. There is a time to move on. That has likely been pre-determined between him and AD Littlepage, in terms of expectations—and I am reasonably sure that anything less than consistently competing for a division title each year is unacceptable.
Mike Groh was a really bad idea—he was allowed to stay too long.
Capitulating to the fans and playing Vic Hall at QB was a really bad idea—the outcome (injury) was predictable (and predicted)—a sign of desperation.
The spread is no “quick fix”.
The next guy will have to rebuild from the ground up, regaining confidence from HS coaches that this is a great school to play for/at. We have the facilities. We don’t have the fan support. We can try to trade on the academics, and the ammenities—and work really hard on the later.
There are five key moments in UVA sports that I can identify as “magical” fan moments in recent history. I think that the Ralph Sampson era was one of those. The Dawn Staley era at U-Hall was similar. Another was the special excitement generated by Terry Kirby, Sean Moore, and Herman Moore. The run of championships in soccer along with the innaguration of Klockner Stadium was huge. And, what is happening now in Baseball is awesome.
But coaches don’t do it alone. Holland was able to orchestrate a product on the floor that was palatable to the fans in the stands AND those sitting at home watching every dribble, pass, and shot on the tube. George, too, raised expectations on and off the field, despite being an ornery SOB. Debbie brought youthful enthusiasm and passion for BOTH the players and the fans. Bruce, too, brought passion, technical excellence, and arrogance—and still made it sell, remarkably, in a town that didn’t know soccer from anything. Coach O’Connor—how brash and yet refreshing he is.
The truth is, you can bring top student-atheletes to UVA, given the right leader. Can you win fan loyalty? Only if you win games.
Just ask George when he “lost” his touch. You ran him out.
Just ask Debbie how it feels to read those “love” letters written into the DP with increasing regularity.
Just ask Bruce how much love was lost when he was run out of Charlottesville by his citics.
Terry fled to Davidson. Why?
How long befor Brian hits the road for friendlier confines?
Something about “The-ness” wears thin. Even TJ had to die first before he gained the respect of his local fan base. Most coaches don’t have that luxury.
Tuberville would certainly be a consideration but the ?s would be his desire to go to a different conference with a different recruiting base, his desire to resurrect another program, family ties to Auburn, children in school, and his $ situation. He had a $5 million severance from AU and does not currently need a position for that reason. TT will be 55 in 2 days. I would hope the next coach, if successful, would be at UVA for a long time.
A follow-up to STYLIN, Sept 15 POST
Your PPS question of Tuberville anyone? has great merit. University of Auburn’s loss is going to be a great, great pick for someone. Tuberville has a proven SEC winning record. The reasons for his departure from Auburn are complex and primarily political and in my prediction will be regretted. If a decision is made for change, his name should be at the top of our list as he’s a great one. As three of my four children are Auburn grads I’ve spent many a Saturday cheering for the Tigers and can’t recall many losses under Tuberville. You have my second.
Having attended all home games for 10 years except two, last week’s debacle was teh most painful. I have witnessed stunning upsets and honest flogging by better teams. But the loss to William and Mary followed by last week’s pathetic effort was more than I could stand. It was the first time I didn’t stay until the final whistle. I love colege football, particularly UVa football. But those two displays were not football as I know it. I am disappointed in the play calling. THose of us in the stands knew what was coming and we are novices. If we know, what do you think the opposing team’s defensive coordinator knows. Sewell left, Sewell right, Sewell sacked. He doesn’t have enough time to scan the field to find an open receiver. Sitting in the upper deck I can see the open receiver, but my vantage point is not ground level and I am not holding the ball either. Groh’s special teams stink. Bad decisions about when to field a punt or let it go. Bad snaps. It’s sad. The defense stayed on the field way too long. But we have no pass rush and our vaunted and experienced secondary looks like they are moving in slow motion. Dowling has been neaten like a drum, luckily some of thos passes thrown his way in blown coverages were overthrown. If not, the final score would have been worse. It’s painful for a true fan, and yes, season ticket holder and donor, to watch the team self destruct. Groh is great at making excuses of why this and that happened. He tries valiantly to paint lipstick on the pig. He makes excuses like academics etc. However, with season ticket sales down 14 percent this year - sure the economy has something to do with that - the coaching, product on the, field and lack of recruiting bears some responsibility. THis is the first year I have seen single game Va Tech tickets available. What does that tell you? The fan base, donor base and season ticket holders are fed up with mediocity after promises of paying Groh $2 million a year and a program heading to the “next level’ haven’t been realized. If UVa, and I hope it doesn’t, loses to Southern Miss and UNC on the road the next two weeks, look for few fans at homecoming against a Big Ten school. Some hard decisions need to be made, and soon.
It’s really sad when the state university is only the fourth or fifth best team in the state. The spread offense, which I thought involved multiple passes, seems to be Sewell left, Sewell right, and Sewell sacked for a loss. A wise sage once told me that you can’t make chicken salad outta’ chicken poop (being kind here). The TCU game was an exercise in futility…..actually disgraceful. UVa is staring 0-12 straight in the face! I had planned on making a 5-hour trek to see the Hoos play Indiana but I canceled my motel reservations yesterday. Why on earth would I travel that far and pay two nights lodging to sit in a half empty stadium listening to a cascade of boos? Why would I do that Al Groh? Please do us all a favor and respectfully resign instead of watching YOUR alma mater wallow in mediocrity? We have taken a back seat to VT for years and now we take a back seat to William and Mary! Football at UVa…....it can be found six feet under.
P.S. Hey Al, take Littlepage with you.
P.S.S. Tommy Tuberville anyone?????
A new offense like the spread has a large learning curve - compare Michigan 2008 to Michigan 2009. It’s like night and day. The problem here is, I don’t have nor do I know anyone who has any confidence in Groh’s ability to recruit the next Tate Forcier.
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